Stanislaus sheriff, district attorney get traffic, DUI grants

Traffic safety in Stanislaus County and beyond should get a boost, thanks to grants awarded to the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department.

A $346,802 grant to the District Attorney’s Office from the California Office of Traffic Safety will fund a “vertical prosecution” team to work cases from arrest through sentencing. Those arrested for drunken driving, especially repeat offenders and those involved in fatal or injury crashes, can expect to face highly trained, specialized prosecutors, according to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office.

“Impaired driving is a serious threat to public safety,” District Attorney Birgit Fladager said in the release. “This grant allows us to vigorously investigate and prosecute offenders in order to keep our streets and highways safe for everyone.”

Also from the traffic safety office, the Sheriff’s Department has been awarded a $90,000 grant for a yearlong program of special enforcement and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries.

The multijurisdictional grant was awarded to the department on behalf of the cities of Riverbank, Patterson, Waterford and Hughson, who contract with it for law enforcement services, according to a news release.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, activities to be funded by the grant will fund include:

▪ Establishing a comprehensive continuing public education program to reduce bicycle and pedestrian collisions.

▪ Conducting traffic safety educational presentations for hundreds of community members on topics such as distracted driving, DUI, child-passenger safety and other issues related to traffic safety.

▪ DUI checkpoints.

▪ DUI saturation patrols.

▪ Motorcycle safety enforcement.

▪ Distracted driving enforcement.

▪ Speed, red light and stop sign enforcement.

▪ Compilation of DUI “hot sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders.

▪ Specialized DUI and drugged-driving training, such as standardized field sobriety testing.

The District Attorney’s Office grant will aid in handling cases through each step of the criminal process. In fatal and major-injury DUI vehicle collisions, for example, members of the vertical prosecution team may respond to the crash scenes to be part of the investigation.

Prosecution team members will work with the state’s Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program to expand knowledge and resources in the District Attorney’s Office by obtaining and delivering specialized training. They will share information with peers and law enforcement personnel throughout the county and across the state.

The purpose of the program is to prevent impaired driving and reduce alcohol and drug-impaired traffic fatalities and injuries. In 2012, there were 12 deaths and 316 serious injuries as a result of DUI crashes in Stanislaus County, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

“California’s roadways are still among the safest in the nation,” Office of Traffic Safety Director Rhonda Craft said in a news release. “But to meet future mobility, safety and sustainability objectives, we must create safer roadways for all users. The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office will be using these and other resources to reach the vision we all share: Toward zero deaths, every one counts.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Stanislaus sheriff, district attorney get traffic, DUI grants."